Yvonne runs sub-13 in century dash

CNMI sprint queen Yvonne Bennett continued her improvement by resetting her own national record in the women’s 100m yesterday as the 2008 Oceania Championships entered its second day at the Oleai Track and Field.

After qualifying for the finals with a seventh-best 13.15 in the preliminaries, the 18-year-old incoming senior at Kagman High School sped to the finish line with a lung-busting time of 12.99.

Although, she finished way behind the medal race in sixth place, the 12.99 shattered the 13.13 she recorded last Saturday in the 2008 Oceania Grand Prix.

But more importantly, Bennett’s century dash last night allowed her to break the psychological 13-second mark.

CNMI National Athletics coach Elias Rangamar said it was really important for Bennett to run a sub-13 century dash because it means that she is improving.

He added that the 12.99 goes a long way in giving her ward confidence, especially as she prepares to compete in off-island events in the near future.

Bennett, for her part, said competing against superior athletes really helped her improve her times these past few days.

Along with the 100m record, the daughter of Ambrose and Lilian Bennett also reset her old marks in the 200m (26.26) and 400m (61.34) just this past week.

“It really helps [to go up against elite athletes]. It gives me the motivation to run even harder,” she said, adding that the next two days of the Championships would hopefully bring her a medal or two and a few more records broken.

Bennett also took the opportunity to thank her coaches Rangamar, Robin Eugenio, and Tony Ichiou for all the support they have given her the past years.

Bennett also said that this year’s Championships is turning out to be a very memorable one, “because I have my home crowd here rooting for me.”

Another CNMI teenager currently making heads turns at the Oleai Sports Complex is Jacque Wonenberg, as she currently leads the under-18 women’s heptathlon following the end of four events yesterday.

Wonenberg finished first in the 200m sprint (28.03), followed by Tonga’s Unaloto Tauki’uvea (29.20), and teammate Liamwar Rangamar (31.41).

She also topped the 100m hurdles (16.83) with Tauki’uvea second (16.90) and Rangamar third (19.69).

Wonenberg also won the shot put with a throw of 8.92m. Tauki’uvea had an 8.68m and Rangamar a 7.45m.

Tauki’uvea took the high jump (1.52m) with Wonenberg registering a 1.31m. Rangamar posted a “NH.”

While Bennett and Wonenberg are still looking for their first medals of the Championships, Nick Gross, Champ Untalan, Jenequa Benavente, and the hosts’ 18-under women’s 4x100m relay team already delivered the hardware for the CNMI.

Gross bagged the bronze in the men’s javelin with a throw of 52.43m, while Untalan also won bronze in the 18-under men’s 3000m by running it in 11:10.92. Benavente, for her part, finished third in the women’s discus by registering a 9.53m.

Wonenberg, Reylyn Sapong, Ana Tenorio, and Liamwar Ranagamar, meanwhile, came in second to powerhouse New Zealand in the relay with a time of 56.90.

The Commonwealth currently is 11th in the medal standings with one silver and three bronze medals.